Publication to explain Aspergers to my employer

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I'm 42 and waiting for assessment for an official diagnosis. I work with adults with learning disabilities, many of whom are at the severe end of ASD. I have had this job for 2.5 years. Previously I had never managed to cope with a job for long, but as this is a charity for disabled people they are much more flexible.

I have problems at work with overstimulation and trying to stop myself blowing up, and not knowing what they expect of me in different tasks. On the outside I appear normal, as far as I know, just maybe a little strict and my temper easily triggered. I'm not sure if sometimes I might appear rude to people.

What I would like to know is if there is any kind of publication to explain (succinctly) high-functioning ASD/Aspergers in adults, particularly with late diagnosis who may appear 'normal' on the outside.

I have tried to explain to my employers what the problem is and how we might adjust my routine, with the help of my psychologist, but I feel that they dismiss me as not having a problem. Maybe this is because I appear 'normal', especially with the severe degrees of ASD that many of our students have. They make me feel a little like I'm 'faking it' but I don't know if I'm misunderstanding them. My line manager said, "Well, I don't know much about it" (Aspergers). The manager has a son with Aspergers who has the reading ability of a five-year old and I think she compares me to him and dismisses me.

Is there anything out there that could help them understand what it is like to be like this when we appear 'normal' on the outside?

Thankyou for any help

Nick

http://www.forwardmotion.info/wp/wp-con ... ndrome.pdf
This might not explain, in the amount of detail you are looking for, how we seem normal on the outside, but it is written in the amount of detail that neurotypical people understand. This is what I gave my employer. It really helped because my manager actually read it and tried to make it work. I wish you luck.

One I really like, can be found right here on this site, as a sticky in GAD:

http://wrongplanet.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=112787

I copied / pasted and printed it out, and made copies.

It seems your trying to do the right thing but in the wrong order without an official diagnosis you should never ever request accomdation. To where on a message board here worshipping at the Altar of the Online Quiz is accepted but in reality it's not just fully dianogisied people who have a problem with that but the rest of the world.

Problem is your requesting an accomdation for something you don't know you have. Sadly online quiz acceptance has its consequences and there are people like yourself who take a Facebook quiz and because you have others like yourself enabling you, you take certificate of online diagnosis from a xanga, live journal, or Facebook quiz and you show it to people in the real world and either you get at the best people who give you an odd look or laugh at you in your face.

Assuming your employer has not laughed at the situation at least in front of you yeah they are not going to believe you and chances are they are going to deny you and inform you to get medical documentation.

Essentially you requesting accomdation on the basis of what you know is true in your head is not an official diagnosis. I know these threads tend to be a feel good support the self diangosiser but what you need is the truth.

Go see someone who has the power to diagnosis you, once you get your answer you can then go from there.

The biggest concern of a self diagnosiser is typically at this point, "what if they deny the holy trinity of the online quiz at xanga, Facebook, and live journal online autistic quiz and say I am not really autistic" if that's the case abandon your your attempts for accomdation.

Another of course is what often happens you get diangosised with another mental disorder and are not autistic. Follow your therapists advice at this point sadly I've seen this in real life where people refused their true diagnosis and refused to get the treatment they needed and kept following the delusion that they are autistic which meant they ignored the treatment they truly needed. I sadly knew a guy who hurt himself and others and they eventually had to put him in a mental hospital after he hurt someone else because he wasn't getting treatment and enabled by other self diagnosiers that only he could know in his heart he was autistic when he wasn't.

If your diagnosed as High Functioning or Low Functioning you will be to work with your psychologist how to present this diagnosis to your employers and if it's even necessary because it's a mine field even when you have a diagnosis. It's like a political conversation you have to keep in a certain line to where they can understand and you don't say something that makes you look like your making excuses. Cause that's what we can come off as looking and sounding like.

No one on this board can prepare you for that moment. Most people assume incorrectly that an accomdation is reducing job responsibilities or for an employer to be forced to accept lower standards. The EEOC specifically warns against that and is not the purpose of ADA




In his first post the op states he is waiting on an assessment thus he at this moment is not considered autistic.

Giving him an online PDF of let's say askjan from the department of labor or the link you gave is not going to help him. He is trying to get an official accomdation this cannot even happen till he gets a diagnosis and even after that his employer is going to want something from the phyican or psychologist who diagnosed him.

Right now he has nothing but his own word that he is saying he is autistic who no supporting documentation.

If your reading this op do not I repeat do not print any of this and hand in to your employer it's just going to make you look bad. Until you get your diagnosis and advice from whoever is handing you just play it cool for right now.

If they requested more documentation chances are what they really mean is a physician letter